Blood and Bonds
by MyHikari
Summary: After the war, Naruto sets on the path to becoming Hokage, helping his friend to atone, and finding family, a growing political tension standing in the way of peace. Rewrite of Blood is Thicker, NaruSaku.
1. The Return

A/N: Alright baby-lovies, here it is, the rewrite you've all been waiting for! Obviously there is a bunch different compared to the original, Blood is Thicker, but down the line, past the introductory stuff, it should start to look hella similar, though also hopefully new and improved. Just a warning, there will be OC's later on, because the characters will travel to a village that canonically doesn't exist, but none of them overshadow the mains so don't worry!

**Warning: Neji will be alive and I give zero shits.**

**Also: You don't have to have read the other one.**

* * *

"You two are such idiots!"

Naruto cracked an eye open to see his teammate, Sakura, rushing towards him. He was starting to wonder when she would find them, knowing she wouldn't be held down by that genjutsu for long. No, she was stronger than that.

Sasuke looked to her hesitantly as well, watching apprehensively as she knelt between them and activated her healing jutsu on their arms. It was amazing she still had it in her, to be honest. "Sakura...," he began, drawing her eyes to him. They flickered with mistrust and hurt, but still kept his gaze. "I'm sorry, for everything."

She remained silent for a moment, looking back to her healing as tears began to well up in her eyes. Naruto placed his other arm on hers reassuringly, and she gave the blonde a small smile that he reciprocated. "You really did it, Naruto. You kept your promise."

"You know me, Sakura-chan. I never give up."

Sasuke observed the two, a small weight lifted from him after he finally apologised. Granted, she hadn't forgiven him, and it would probably take her awhile to do so, but it was progress all the same. She and Naruto had grown quite close in his absence, much closer than they had been, and it relieved him somewhat to know that they had been there for each other.

She leaned back, finished closing their wounds, clearly exhausted from everything this war had put her through. "Naruto, I think you could grow your arm back yourself when you recover, but Sasuke, you'll need to have a new one grown for you."

"Thank you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, starting to sit up already. Sakura frowned with worry, but leaned forward to hug him all the same, not caring about the blood and sweat he was getting all over her already ruined shirt. He sighed happily against her shoulder, feeling a soothing hand rub his back.

"No, Naruto, thank you."

Kakashi watched them from a distance, feeling a surge of relief. The peace he was never able to get with Obito and Rin was right there before his eyes. There would definitely still be some tension, but that group had always known it, and was strong enough to overcome it. 'Besides,' he thought, looking on amusedly as Sakura lightly bonked Naruto for some silly comment, 'it surely won't take long.'

* * *

Hinata gazed on at her father's body, surrounded by members of her clan. Neji's hand rested on her shoulder, having just joined them after checking in with his team and their injured sensei. She could hardly believe it, that he'd thrown himself in front of an attack meant for herself and Naruto. Sharing a glance with her cousin, she knew he felt guilty for not reaching Hiashi in time. It was his perceived duty to protect the Main Branch after all.

She scoffed. What deplorable nonsense those branch distinctions. Already, she could hear older Hyuuga whispering amongst themselves about the future of the clan. Hinata was still technically ranked 2nd to Hanabi in official clan paperwork, but her father's last words... they had been different than how he normally spoke to her.

_"Because I believe you can change things."_

She could already sense it was going to be a nightmare. Turning, she looked to Neji. "I would like to take a walk."

He nodded and let her pass, allowing her to move amongst all the mourners towards a group of tents that had been set up for the injured, perhaps hoping to be able to help in some fashion.

Upon entering, she looked sadly among the injured, before heading the speak with the Hokage, Tsunade. The blonde woman was deep in discussion with the Kazekage, Gaara, and didn't quite notice her right away. In fact, it wasn't until Gaara's eyes landed upon her that Tsunade noticed, following his gaze.

"Hinata," Tsunade said, turning to see the young kunoichi. "Do you need anything?"

"Actually, I was wondering if there was some way I could help?"

Tsunade smiled lightly, "Actually, yes, you could take a look at our stubborn Kazekage, here? He's been refusing it ever since everyone woke up."

Gaara shook his head frustratedly. "I told you I don't need to be looked at when everyone is busy healing the injured."

"But look, Hinata here just arrived, and the situation is for the most part handled. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go check in on the other tents."

The redhead looked at the Hyuuga, before slowly sitting down on an empty bed, removing his vest and shirt frustratedly to reveal bruises and cuts all over his torso and arms. "I would appreciate if you didn't put too much effort into healing me, I'm not that injured. There are many more in worse condition."

Hinata activated the Mystical Palm Technique and set to work healing the irritated kage. Despite being told not to exert too much energy, she couldn't find it in her to let his pale skinned be marked, discreetly disobeying his orders. He turned his head slightly, a green eye studying her.

"Do you know anyone hurt?"

Looking away from his probing gaze, she felt her hand start to tremble. He must've felt it too, a frown starting to form in the corners of his mouth. "My father...he's gone."

He closed his eyes and sighed, clearly frustrated by the death toll. "I'm deeply sorry for your loss. I wish there was some way it could have been prevented."

"H..he threw himself in front of me, saying things about change and the clan, and I just...I just..." she couldn't continue, sobs wracking her body. Gaara's fingers gripped the edge of the bed he sat on, feeling unable to handle his guilt. He was a Kage, and he was supposed to make sure everyone made it through ok. The girl crying her eyes out was merely proof of his failure.

Standing from the bed, he put his top back on and approached her slowly. Awkwardly, he patted her shoulder, trying to be reassuring despite having no real experience trying to comfort someone, let alone a girl. He wasn't expecting her to grip the hand within her own tightly, as if he were a lifeline.

She held his hand for a minute or two, before letting go to wipe her now puffy eyes and turn away slightly, embarassed by the outburst. "I'm very sorry Kazekage-sama. I just...can't believe this happened. I wish I could run away from all of it."

"I understand. When I was the host of the demon Shukaku, there were many times I wished I could just run away. I even tried, but my father sent ninja to detain me."

"Th..thank you for talking to me, Kazekage-sama."

* * *

A few weeks and many funerals had passed since the end of the war, and Team Seven found themselves at Konoha's entrance, as Sasuke was planning to leave. Sakura stood near Naruto, feeling little about what was happening. Ever since Sasuke returned, she could sense his restlessness growing, as she had when they were 12. It was no surprise to her that he would leave to wander, however, it was a surprise that Karin, the one loved him so, was not trying to go with him.

She stood at the edge of the treeline, warily observing Sasuke's old team. Juugo and Suigetsu had already left earlier that day, not interested in anything Konoha had to offer them. It was somewhat relieving to Kakashi, who as the newly appointed Hokage had to plea for Sasuke's pardon from the council. Karin, on the other hand, seemed interested in staying in Konoha, tired of not doing anything for her own sake.

The redhead was quickly growing acquainted with Naruto and Sakura, seeing as they spent quite a bit of time with their newly returned teammate. They were nice, Karin thought, so different from the people she'd gotten to know.

"When will you be back, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, looking to his teammate. The Uchiha looked as unsure as Naruto did, not knowing the answer himself.

"I don't know, but it is something I need to do to atone."

Sakura was surprised at how well Naruto had taken the news, but then again, he and Sasuke understood each other better than anyone. She remained back from the pair, not knowing what to say to Sasuke. Being around him was starting to feel like old times, but without the innocence and naivete of youth.

"I suppose I'll be seeing you again sometime," Sasuke said, picking up his pack. "Goodbye."

"Don't forget this," Naruto spoke quickly before he moved even a step, pulling Sasuke's old headband out from his pouch. The Uchiha eyed it, and accepted it with a grateful nod.

"Bye Sasuke, see you," Karin spoke, giving a half-hearted wave. Sakura spoke up also, giving him a goodbye and a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kakashi waved himself, inclining his head towards his former student.

They watched him go, before Kakashi left, remarking that he should go back before Shizune sent a search party for him. Karin awkwardly looked at Naruto and Sakura, who shared a glance.

"How are you, cousin?" Naruto asked, waggling his eyebrlws somewhat. When Karin explained to Sasuke how she got to him after his injury, Naruto had reacted quite strangely, and started whispering in Sakura's ear hurriedly. He'd had a hunch, spouting words like "mother" and "chains".

Karin had been incredibly surprised to find out she was actually distantly related to him through the Uzumaki clan. It was because of this information she decided to stay in Konoha, hoping to refine her skills with a fellow clansmen. Neither of them knew much about the ability, but together, surely they would figure it out.

She could've sought out Orochimaru, however, Sasuke's obsession with atonement was starting to affect her, and the decision was made within her mind before she consciously realized it.

"I'm well, thanks."

"How are you adjusting?" Sakura asked, smiling gently. Karin wasn't trusted by anyone, but the two in front of her were kind and supportive, convinced she would fit right in one day soon.

"As well as I can, I suppose. It'd be nice not to be followed by the ANBU all the time, though."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, looking downwards. "Unfortunately, I couldn't talk Kakashi-sensei out of that. I think he doesn't want the council to think he's too big of a softie to defend the village. I'm still surprised they allowed Granny to step down."

"I honestly think it was a mixture of exhaustion and guilt," Sakura nearly whispered, feeling bad for speculating on her mentor.

"Well, we'll find out when she gives a speech at the Hokage's gala, I'm sure. The daimyo won't let her get out of it," Naruto remarked, not looking forward to the silly ball the daimyo demanded to be thrown. "I bet she'll be way too drunk to form sentences that make sense by then."

"Naruto! Don't speak about Lady Tsunade that way!"

Karin merely watched the exchange, surprised at how quickly Sakura's demeanor could change. Perhaps they weren't so different after all.

* * *

A/N: Gosh darn here we go. True story, the only thing I accurately predicted about the end of Naruto was Sasuke becoming a wanderer and ShikaTema. That's seriously it. And ShikaTema hardly counts, tbh. So I made my own ending! I hope you like it, please leave a nice review telling me how much you loved it/hated it/etc. Got questions? Comments? Concerns? I'd love to read them. It gets me so motivated to write like you don't even know, man.

Anyhoo lovebugs, have a holly jolly holiday!

MyHikari


	2. The Hokage Gala

A/N: Surprise, my lovey-doves! Because of Christmas I'm giving you a second chapter! Woo! I'm so blown away by all the feedback and responses already, I mean, the other one didn't get much of that at all! You guys are the best!

midnightscar17: Here it is!

InfKat: Merci, bruh.

KyaNika: Aww, thanks. And I definitely ship NejiTen, by the way. :)

JaniBeccharelli: Thank you! 3

ahmadaziz: Thanks so much. And I'll be honest, I really considered having Sasuke journey with Taka, but I was meditating upon it and I thought "well Sasuke says he needs to do this alone, and Karin has that cool new power, so what if she focuses on developing that this time around instead of medical jutsu?" So yeah, Karin will (hopefully) take a level in badass instead.

dbzgtfan2004: I'm glad you feel that way!

Guest: Aww, I'm sorry if I confused you! And you're right, the ending shouldn't stop you from liking your favorite pairing!

hillariuslyInjustic: Ask and ye shall receive.

Igornerd: Kishi really missed the boat on that one...

Death by manga: Thank you!

* * *

Naruto observed as party-goers milled about, taking part in the first fun event since the war ended. The Hokage Gala was intended to be a celebration of the Kakashi's new position, insisted upon by the daimyo, despite Kakashi's protest. He finally caved, however, when it was pointed out that the party would help to cheer up the public some.

It was quite a fancy affair, and the daimyo's invitation stressed the new modern formal attire growing big in civilian cities, such as the one the daimyo himself lived in. Naruto felt himself tugging at his tie somewhat, perturbed by how tightly Sakura had tied it for him. The girl in question was halfway across the large ballroom, gushing with all of the girls about their dresses, much less egregious than the monkey suits the guys had to wear, in Naruto's opinion.

"I hate this already, and it just started," drawled the voice of Shikamaru, who had just walked up next to him. The Nara man's tie was nowhere in sight, and the first buttons were popped open, giving a lackadaisical appearance even in his formal attire. Choji was by his side, his hair cut and smoothed back for the event.

"Looking good, Choji," Naruto smirked, seeing the Akimichi smile widely and touch his now short hair.

"Thanks! I think I may keep it this way, the ladies seem to like it!"

Shikamaru sighed. "Ino told him that, she practically forced him into the barber's chair. I escaped before she could do the same to me."

"Are you speaking badly about me, Shikamaru?!"

Sure enough, it was Ino herself, her long hair down and a purple gown on. Sakura was by her side, wearing a pink dress a bit darker than her hair. Naruto felt himself blush slightly, having never seen her wearing something like that. She looked positively glowing.

"If you keep talking like that, I won't let you two knuckleheads dance with me!"

"Who said we wanted to dance with you?"

A howl of laughter interrupted the bickering, and they all turned to see Kiba, Hinata and Shino standing there. It was Kiba who had laughed, looking strange without Akamaru by his side, but still as rambunctious. Shino still wore his sunglasses, seemingly never taking them off, and Hinata wore a lavender dress with a navy sash.

"Oh boy, Yamanaka, I hope you have burn cream," Kiba spoke, wiping tears from his eyes. Ino's eyes narrowed, and she glared at him.

"You think that's funny, do you?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Hilarious."

The group only continued to become bigger, as Neji, Tenten and Lee joined them as well, and Naruto forced Sai to stand amongst them as well. The group was quite ranbunctious, village higher-ups and members of the daimyo's court gave them strange glances. It wasn't until the Kazekage and his siblings came to greet the group that they stopped staring.

"Hello, Naruto, how are you?" Gaara asked, looking to his good friend.

"I'm great, Gaara! How about you?" Naruto replied happily, but noticed that Hinata became very stiff and flushed after the redhead had come to stand next to her, as if his presence made her nervous. "Hey, Hinata, are you ok?"

Gaara looked down to her, and she gave a feeble attempt at a smile. He remembered, she had cried in front of him, and was likely feeling quite embarassed now that she had come face to face with the man again. She probably expected for her to not have to see him again so soon.

"How are you, Hyuuga-san?"

"I..I'm well, thank you, Kazekage-sama."

Ino started whispering wildly in Sakura's ear for a moment, and Hinata's flush deepened at what they possibly were speculating. Nodding at Gaara's "I'm glad to hear it," she started tapping her fingers together as she did, a nervous habit. Truthfully, she was not well. The clan drama had reached an all time high and she was quite tired of it, however, she did not want to bring attention to it with her friends, and she especially did not want Gaara alluding to it accidentally.

"I trust your family is doing well?"

"Ah, yes of course, but I'm really very sorry, if you would all excuse me, I..I think I see my sister waving me over," Hinata rushed out, before bowing respectfully and leaving the group. Ino stopped whispering and followed her retreating back with her eyes.

"That was weird."

"It really was," Kiba agreed, frowning, and stealing a glance at the redhead. He turned to Shino, an eyebrow cocked. "She hasn't said anything to you, has she?"

"Hinata has not confided anything in me, if that is what you're asking."

"I'm sure she's fine," Naruto offered, still confused about her reaction to Gaara. Had something happened between them? She really did always act weird like that, but never towards the Kazekage.

Tenten sighed, looking over to Neji, who had followed Hinata after a moment or two. "Clearly, you guys no nothing of all the clan drama going on with the Hyuuga right now. Everything went to hell in a handbasket after Hiashi died."

"And you know this how?" Ino asked, an eyebrow quirked suggestively. Tenten ignored the tiny blush gracing her features, and crossed her arms.

"Of course I know through Neji! But seriously, it's getting pretty bad. There's some who think Hanabi is the rightful heir because of things Hiashi did while he was alive, and there's some who think Hanabi is too young and want to consider Hinata, or quite scandalously, Neji, since he's male. And then, nearly all of them want to marry Hinata off."

Everybody seemed to take the news quite poorly, even Gaara, whose eyes narrowed. "Why wouldn't she tell us?" Kiba pondered aloud, irritated he had to hear this through a third party.

"She probably doesn't want everyone to worry about her and ask about it all the time," Shikamaru said, as if it were obvious. Temari nodded by his side, the two previously having conversed amongst themselves, giving no indication that they were even listening.

"This is bullshit!" Naruto said, his voice rising. "This needs to change."

"Naruto, I know you want to help, but until you're Hokage, you really shouldn't butt in," Sakura said, placing a hand on his arm.

"Sakura is right," Tenten jumped in, but looking disgusted all the same. "They'd just ignore you anyway."

"They are not bad people," Lee spoke, "but they follow their traditions in a very rigid and unyouthful way."

Their words felt like a muzzle to Naruto, and he begrudgingly relented for the moment, intending to have some words with someone later. Sakura frowned, clearly picking up on his frustration, but said nothing.

It wasn't until Ino complained that everyone should go dance that he felt himself loosen up a bit. Smiling down at his teammate, he offered a hand. "Wanna dance?"

"I suppose," she replied, blushing prettily and taking his hand as he lead them towards the dance floor.

"You look pretty, Sakura-chan."

"Why thank you!" she answered with a smile as they began to dance a little, looking amusedly at Kiba complain, having been picked to dance by Ino as punishment for laughing at her earlier.

"I wonder where Kakashi-sensei is?" Naruto wondered aloud. He'd not seen the new Hokage ever since he arrived, even seeing Shizune looking frantically all over the place. A sad expression crossed his face as he realized where Kakashi probably was, and the reason he was usually late.

"I think he might've just arrived, there's a mob of people by the door."

Sure enough, many world leaders had flocked towards the door, chattering excitedly to the newly promoted man. To Sakura's trained eye, she could see Shizune fuming behind her smile, and anyone could see Tsunade was clearly amused with it all.

There were some world leaders Naruto hadn't seen before, being outside of the 5 Kage. "Sakura-chan, who are those people?"

"They come from smaller villages. There aren't many of them here, but there's some. They probably want to determine their relationship with Konoha."

"Why wouldn't they join the alliance?"

"For whatever reason it seems limited to actual Kage. Probably makes deciding actions more efficient, there's fewer variables," Sakura pondered. It had made sense during the war to keep it that way.

"So they aren't being represented?" Naruto's brows began to furrow, processing the information in his head.

"Well, no, but-"

Suddenly, Sakura found herself being dragged towards Kakashi, who was conversing with a group of three women. The women looked quite startled, but Kakashi seemed unsurprised. "Ladies, may I introduce my students Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno."

"Kakashi, this isn't time for flirting, I found out that small villages have no representation among the Kages! What's up with that?!"

"Uzumaki-san, if I may butt in, I think I may have an explanation for you," spoke a woman with long, wavy red hair, smiling kindly. "I am the new leader of Amegakure, and my village has been involved in a war or two, but currently, we are trying to focus on fixing ourselves following the reign of the Akatsuki. We didn't ask for a seat, and if my village desired it, we surely would. As long as the decisions of the 5 Kage affect only their own village, we have no qualms with the alliance."

"Thank you, Amaya-san," Kakashi answered drily. "See, Naruto, you shouldn't go jumping to conclusions, especially with politics."

"Well there are some who complain," a woman with short green hair said, scowling slightly. "That loon in Tanigakure."

"I believe he is allied with Ishi as well," a third woman, with orange hair spoke. "Right next door to my village, quite discomforting."

"Naruto, Sakura, these women are Amaya, the leader of Amegakure, Kaede, the leader of Kusagakure and Nakina Takeshi, leader of Ryugakure. Make sure to treat them properly, ok Naruto?" Kakashi said, introducing the ladies.

"Nice to meet you," Sakura said amiably, giving a respectful bow. "You'll have to forgive Naruto, he isn't terribly respectful to those who outrank him."

"I'll say," Tsunade remarked, approaching the group. The blonde former Hokage was already somewhat drunk, to no one's surprise. "The kid practically harassed me into becoming Hokage. Now that I'm retired I can relax."

"You're the one who defeated Pain," Amaya said, observing him shrewdly.

Sheepishly scratching his head, Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I did."

"How impressive. They mentioned you in my son's class at the Academy."

"Don't fill his head too much, he'll get illusions of grandeur," Kakashi joked, albeit in his dry manner.

"Tsunade-sama, the Daimyo wants to talk to you!" Shizune's voice called, as she ran towards her mentor. "I hope you have your speech prepared!"

"Ahh, not already," the woman practically whined, before downing the rest of her drink and heading off with a huff. Shizune turned to Kakashi next.

"Mizukage-sama would like to speak with you, as well."

Kakashi did not appear very enthused, but nodded, bowing to the three women. "I will speak with you tomorrow afternoon, Nakina-san. Amaya-san, Kaede-san, since I've already met with you, I hope your travels home are safe."

"It's so weird to see Kakashi-sensei all political and stuff," Naruto pondered, watching him go.

"Well he has to be, he's the Hokage now! You'll have to as well, someday, I'm sure."

"It was nice to meet you, Naruto-san," Nakina of Ryugakure said, giving a smile and a wave, before moving on with the other women leaders. "I'm sure we'll speak again one day."

Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair. The Gala had thus far been an emotional rollercoaster, with all sorts of information coming to light, and it wasn't even over yet. Sakura waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. "I think the dinner buffet is ready, if you wanna go find everyone and sit down."

"Sounds good to me. I'm sure I'll have to be sitting by the time Granny gives her speech anyway, I'll probably be laughing too hard."

"Naruto!"

"Ow! Sakura-chan, I was joking!"

* * *

A/N: Ahhh this was hard to write. I'm not so good at continuous scenes like this, I usually switch around to different scenarios. Anyway, hope you guys liked it! Feel free to keep on reviewing, faveing and following to your heart's content! I really appreciate it you know, and it keepz me going. Don't hesitate to PM either if you have questions, comments or concerns!

MyHikari


	3. A New Mission

Chapter 3

A/N: Hellloooo baby lovies! Thank you to everyone who followed, faved, and reviewed. It means so much to me! Don't worry my darlings, my fic will keep you safe and warm from all that new nonsense coming out in regards to the series.

midnightscar17: Neither can I.

InfKat: Unfortunately, you won't get to see the drunken toast, I'm afraid.

SkyRage: I agree 100%. I'm glad you enjoy this!

KyaNika: Thank you very much!

Death by manga: Karin will definitely be more battle-savvy.

Spinoff: Of course!

Igornerd: A shame really, because there was supposed to be a changing the Hyuuga clan plotline...

The Keeper of Worlds: I just consider it super bad Studio Pierrot fanfiction at this point...

Guest: Uhh, he and Sasuke did fight, but I just had Naruto grow a new arm.

ahmadaziz: Aww thanks so much! I'm so glad you're liking KI this time around! And the funny thing is, I usually do break up my sections!

* * *

Three months had passed since everything had settled down, and people were starting to grow accustomed to their routines once again. Sakura found herself enjoying a lunch with Ino and Hinata, a rare shred of girl-time amongst all the work they did. Tenten, however, was unfortunately unavailable, helping Gai make adjustments on his apartment to make it easier for his wheelchair.

"So Forehead, how did your mission go?" Ino asked, stirring some sugar into her tea. Sakura and Naruto had recently been to Kumo, delivering some trade contracts and fighting off any bands of rebels who attempted to stop them.

"It was fine. I'd rather be back in Kumo than dealing with my idiot cousins in town any day," the girl replied, refilling her own teacup, sighing at the thought of her visiting relatives. "I think Naruto is really starting to grasp the importance of politics in our alliance. He didn't have any trouble fighting off rebels, though."

"Those people are becoming quite problematic, aren't they? Isn't there anything the alliance can do about that?" Hinata asked, a worried frown crossing her features.

"There doesn't seem to be. The groups are just loose bands of defectors from smaller villages, and are very anti-Alliance. Taking these guys out for good would upset the small villages, likely," Sakura spoke with a sigh. "It's a very dicey situation. Be careful if you encounter any."

"I'm surprised you didn't in Suna, Hinata," Ino remarked thoughtfully, causing Sakura to raise an eyebrow at the girl.

"Actually, we did. They're the ones who kidnapped the client's daughter. It appeared they were trying to get a large ransom to fund their operation," the heiress spoke, hesitantly, poking her fingers together. "One of them poisoned Kiba, and he had to recover in Suna's hospital."

"Why didn't Suna take care of it?"

"Well, the girl is from here, we were tasked with tracking her down. Her father had no idea where she was taken, therefore Gaara-sama didn't have jurisdiction."

"So you got to spend more time with your new friend?" Ino asked, smirking. Hinata flushed at the implication.

"I..Ino, I told you, I don't actually know him that well. Gaara-sama only inquired about me at the Gala because we met briefly during the war."

"I dunno, Kiba said you acted all jumpy around him while you were on the mission," the Yamanaka tutted, wagging a finger.

"Ino, Hinata already told us that's because their encounter was somewhat embarassing, stop reading so much into things. Besides, since when have you hung out with the likes of Kiba?" Sakura chided, turning the conversation around.

"Both Teams 8 and 10 help Kurenai take care of Mirai-chan. I ran into him at her house, Shino too, and even one time her weird former student Yakumo," Ino replied with a shrug. "Even Shikamaru pitches in."

"I wish I could help out more often," Hinata sighed. "The clan drama is still going on."

"Three months later and they still don't have it figured out?" Sakura asked, exasperated on behalf of her friend. Ino shook her head with pity.

"My father's will clearly chose Hanabi to be the heiress, after we fought each other in a duel," Hinata explained. "But there is a faction who believes Neji deserves the title as a male, and the strongest choice. Most want to marry me off, and are searching for possible husbands."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," the rosette said, looking sadly at the girl.

Hinata only stared at her reflection. "Well, they have a few ideas. They're searching for other powerful clans, or young men in powerful positions, and if worst comes to worst, they could select a Hyuuga clan member."

"I can't believe that's still a common practice," Ino snarled. "That's something my grandmother went through!"

"It's alright," Hinata mumbled weakly. "If it's what they need me to do, I can... as long as they weren't serious when they suggested Sasuke. I'm sorry, Sakura, I just couldn't do it."

"Hey, don't apologize, Sasuke is a wild card. I still don't exactly trust him, but Naruto does, and I want him to have the support of his team. Besides, even if the clan was serious, Sasuke would never agree to it."

"Maybe you could talk to Gaara?" Ino suggested gently. "I know he lives far away, but he visits Konoha frequently and you know him. I'm sure the clan would have no problem accepting him as a choice."

"Ino! Don't try to meddle in their affairs! How many times does Hinata have to tell you they're only acquaintances! What you're suggesting is unbelievably awkward," Sakura chastised, looking worriedly for Hinata's reaction. The girl was still blushing, and was staring at her friends as they argued.

"I just think he may be fond of her, based on the Gala. I mean first he asked how she was before anyone else but Naruto, and then later I saw them talking again."

"Wow, they were talking..._clearly_ that's true love. You read too much into the smallest things," Sakura retorted sarcastically, her arms crossed.

"It's alright, Sakura. Ino was only making a suggestion," Hinata said, stopping the two in their tracks. "I..I think I'll just let the clan handle things, though." She felt her stomach sink, and her face flush again upon meeting their looks. Standing up to place some money on the table, she said goodbye to her two friends in a daze, and left the restaurant.

Walking home, all she could think of was Ino's suggestion. It was a silly one, she thought. Of course she wouldn't attempt to propose marriage to the Kazekage of all people, even if Ino had a point! Besides, what about Naruto?

* * *

"I think you got two this time!" Naruto exclaimed to his training partner, looking to the figure, who was doubled over and panting. Karin looked up to him, smiling slightly.

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I got a memory of more than one of them being taken out. Good job! I think you're starting to get the hang of it," Naruto nodded, giving her a thumbs up.

Ever since Karin had discovered an ability to summon chains made of chakra, Naruto recognized it as being a technique of his mother's, and insisted he help her to master it. Going off sheer memory, and a bit of research found mostly by Sakura, the two Uzumaki cousins set to work attempting to get her to control her new power.

After discovering she could summon them, they next progressed to integrating her sensory powers to help her take out enemies. Naruto started to sends waves of shadow clones at her, in the hopes that could direct her chains in multiple directions to pierce them. So far, it had been slow going.

"Well, I'm glad we made some progress," the redhead spoke, cleaning off her glasses. "I was worried nothing would get done today."

"Wait til Sasuke comes back, and sees it, it'll blow his mind!" the blonde pondered gleefully, excited for his friend to see their accomplishments.

"Somehow, I doubt that," she replied, running a hand through her now shoulder length hair. She had cut it and changed her outfit somewhat, signifying to herself she was starting over anew. However, everytime there was a report of Orochimaru being sighted, the ninja of the village became somewhat paranoid around her, afraid she would defect and return to her old master.

"Have you heard from him?" Naruto inquired hopefully. He hadn't heard anything about the Uchiha while he was in Kumo, and he had not received any correspondance from him either.

"Naruto, if Sasuke were to contact anyone, it would be you," Karin said, shaking her head.

"It's true, y'know," a voice said, causing both Uzumakis to look and see Sakura had arrived at the training ground. "Sasuke would contact you before anyone else."

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What's up?," the blonde asked his teammate, seeing her in casual clothing.

"I was coming from lunch with Ino and Hinata, when an ANBU asked me to send you to see Kakashi-sensei. I guess he might have a mission for you?"

"So soon after the last one? But Karin and I just started training again," he whined, grabbing his jacket and putting it back on.

"It's alright Naruto, at least we kind of have it figured out now," Karin reassured. "I was getting tired anyway."

"Well, I guess I should hurry then. Are you gonna walk with me, Sakura-chan?"

"Sure," she replied, waving goodbye to the redhead, and following her excitable teammate.

"I wonder what kind of super crazy awesome mission he has for me? Maybe I'll go beat those bandits, or single-handedly protect a Daimyo?" Naruto wondered, having visions of the crazy villains he may have to face.

"I'm sure it will be an interesting one."

* * *

"A political mission?! You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Naruto, I assure you, I'm not kidding," Kakashi replied drily. "I trust you remember Nakina Takeshi from the Gala a few months back?"

"Was she the one with green hair?"

"She was the one with orange hair. Anyway, she has been sending me quite a bit of correspondance regarding her uneasiness with the growing anti-Alliance sentiment within a few villages close to her own, and she is interested in pursuing an alliance with Konoha and Suna."

"Is that allowed?" Neji, also summoned for the mission asked. "Wouldn't it have to be with the entire 5 Great Nations?"

"The Great Alliance is limited solely to the Great Nations, I'm afraid. The smaller nations have to pick and choose. Since Konoha and Suna were already allied, it was a natural choice for Ryugakure," the Hokage explained.

"Isn't Iwagakure closer to them geographically speaking?" Shikamaru piped in, lazily leaning against the wall.

"Iwagakure is rumored to be somewhat unstable at the moment," Shizune answered for Kakashi, pulling some folders out of a filing cabinet and placing them on his desk.

"Yes. On this mission, your duties are to present these folders here, and draft alliance terms with Ryu's council. You will send back the completed items, which I will review with the Kazekage. They want help becoming a stronger village, so it is unknown what requests they will make," Kakashi explained, looking up from his book. "Once Gaara and I review the terms, they will be sent back to you, along with orders."

"Why isn't Granny coming? She's a former Hokage, she should know all about this kinda thing," Naruto observed, causing Shizune and Kakashi to exchange a small look. "We're all kinda young, after all?"

"Lady Tsunade was asked first. She refused," her former assistant replied.

"I've assembled you three because Shikamaru here has plenty of experience conducting inter-village diplomacy with Sunagakure, Neji is quite level-headed and logical, and also sensitive to the inner workings of large clans, which you will be dealing with, I'm afraid, and you, Naruto, because you're very persuasive, and need to learn how to do this if you want to become Hokage."

The three ninja nodded, and Shikamaru accepted the information Shizune handed to him. As the most experienced, he would be the leader for the mission.

"Besides that, your group is quickly rising through the ranks and becoming more and more responsible within the vilage. I do not consider you too young for this task. Soon, you'll be leading it, and will need to know these things."

"Understood," Neji replied.

"Ok, so go to Ryugakure, write this alliance thing, send it back to you. Got it!" Naruto said, checking the tasks off his fingers. "Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, we'll get it done in no time, a week tops!"

"It takes a week to get there, actually."

"Damn it!"

"How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, dragging the blonde out of the office, Neji following silently. Sakura looked up from where she was waiting, and stood to greet them.

"Did you get a 'super crazy awesome mission', Naruto?"

"No, we have to do some political negotiation! It'll probably be really boring," he said, finally free from the Nara's grasp.

"You've gotta learn it, Naruto, so you may as well stop complaining. If I have to hear a whole week's worth, I may just kill you," Shikamaru sighed, wishing he had a cigarette. He had quit after he started spending so much time looking after Mirai, figuring Asuma wouldn't want him smoking around his kid.

"You're grumpy after quitting, huh Shikamaru?"

"Naruto, don't be mean, he's suffering from nicotine withdrawl," Sakura explained, whispering slightly.

"It's probably for the best you just leave him be," Neji advised, before saying goodbye and heading home. Shikamaru followed suit soon afterwards, leaving Naruto and Sakura still in the hallway.

"So you'll be gone a long time?" she asked, looking over his mission scroll.

"Sounds like it," he sighed. "And I was just making progress helping Karin, too."

"I can help her, if you'd like. I know I can't really do shadow clones, but I'm sure I could figure something out."

"That'd be great, Sakura-chan!"

"And it'll keep me out of the house, my cousins Toshiro, Sayuri and Kameko are staying with us, and my house is pretty chaotic."

"Why are they staying with you? Didn't you say their mother lives in a nice town with her new husband?" Naruto asked, quite familiar with Sakura talking about them over the years.

"Well, they want to stay in the village, since Toshiro is a ninja and Kameko is about to graduate from the Academy. I don't know what Sayuri's excuse is, since she quit being a ninja over a year ago," Sakura babbled on. "I know it's been hard for them, since their dad died in the war, but it's been a rambunctious three months with them at our house. It's driving my mom crazy, apparently."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and be sent on a long mission, too?"

"Maybe. You wanna get some Ichiraku later, before you go?" Sakura inquired hesitantly, her eyes meeting his, before flicking to her feet.

"Like, as a date?" Naruto, asked incredulously.

"If it's a date, you can pick up the check then," she responded with a smirk, and a slight flush.

"Ahh, Sakura-chan, you always say that!"

* * *

A/N: Ok, babies! Here's the newest installment! I'm sorry if it was a long wait! I really hope you're liking it. Please, leave a review and tell me what you think! They fuel me, and I love to see you guys enjoy the story. It means so so so much to me. In Blood is Thicker, I started to lose reviewers and was worried nobody liked the story. Then, when I announced the rewrite, all you kids came out of the woodwork. It was great!

Song to listen to: Machu Picchu by The Strokes

Til next time!

MyHikari


	4. Arrival in Ryugakure

Chapter 4

A/N: Hello hello hello babies! Have an update! I hope you're all staying safe in the yucky winter, or enjoying the warm sun wherever you are! I'm supposed to get snow tonight, sadly. I get quite frightened of snow now that I have to drive in it. I had a minor accident earlier this month, and now I'm a nervous wreck whenever I have to go out.

InfKat: Shenanigans will definitely ensue.

SkyRage: Ah yes, there will be some mission focus, but I hope you'll find it less boring than you thought!

skullwingD36: Yay, I'm happy to hear it!

Death by manga: Thanks!

Masen Lakain: There was some tweaking, but they definitely look pretty similar!

Guest: Naruto wasn't attacked because he was Naruto, Sakura &amp; him were attacked by rebels from small villages who probably didn't know better, or didn't care because they were from Konoha.

midnightscar17: I can't reveal all my secrets!

Akamatt: Thank you thank you!

* * *

"Katsutoshi-nii."

The man in question looked up to the small voice that had spoken his name, maroon eyes reflecting annoyance for being interrupted. "Yes, Hiromi?"

"Border patrol reported seeing a group of ninja from Konoha pass by. They are quite close to our territory, but are traveling parallel to it," the girl, Hiromi, spoke nervously. Her older brother could be unpredictable at times.

"Do we know where they are going?" he asked, now giving her his full and undivided attention, fingers steepled. She recognized it as something he did in deep thought.

"They guess its a roundabout route to Suna or a direct one to Iwa, as the group spoke of diplomatic work, but Ame, Ishi and Ryu are in that general direction as well."

"They aren't going to Ishigakure, I can assure you of that, Hiromi. Have you forgotten Mother's recent visit there?"

"Oh right, you're right, I'm sorry," she said, nodding and nervously running her hand through her black hair.

"Keep on eye on them while they're close to our border. We may get more information from them. I think I need to consult with Mother about this," he spoke, standing from his desk and heading for the door of his office.

"Do you need me to tell her the story?" Hiromi asked, stopping Katsutoshi at the door. He turned to look at her over his shoulder.

"No, there are some plans for Tanigakure that you are not yet privy to, and I don't plan to change that. Give the orders to the border patrol and then go back to your duties overseeing all of our new citizens."

With that, the village leader left, leaving Hiromi alone in the office. She sighed, used to being excluded by Katsutoshi and their mother. Shaking her head and leaving the room, she berated herself for not knowing better than to tell Mother before him. Konoha was a sore point for him after all, as he was convinced they had a hand in murdering their father. Mother was rarely not frightening in Hiromi's opinion, but in this case, she would've been.

"I hope they know what they're doing," she murmured to herself, heading to find the border patrol runner from earlier.

* * *

"Lady Tsunade, wake up, please," Sakura beseeched, trying to shake awake her mentor. The blonde was fast asleep on her office desk, drooling on patients' charts and snoring furiously.

"Lady Tsunade!" Sakura shrieked, this time bringing her fist down on the table as well. Tsunade instantly shot up, and brought Sakura's face close to hers. The rosette could smell the alcohol on the Sannin's breath, and turned away, unable to meet the hazy glare.

"Whadoo you think you're doin?"

"You're supposed to be preparing for a surgery, Lady Tsunade," her student replied steadily, earning the release of the front of her shirt.

"I'll be there, jus gimme a minute," the Sannin responded, shakily trying to stand up from her desk. Sakura quickly shoved her back down. "What the hell, Sakura? I have to go!"

"Respectfully, m'lady, I cannot allow you to operate on a patient in this state! This is a hospital, what are doing drinking on the job? You know how dangerous that is!"

"Its the only thing that keeps all the bad stuff out sometimes," Tsunade said, leaning her head back and covering her eyes with her arm to help with the pounding headache that was starting to form. "I see these people and I think of the war, and then I think about my past and everyone I've lost and it's...it's too much Sakura, it's too painful."

The girl watched sadly as tears slipped past Tsunade's arm and fell freely down her cheeks. Suddenly, she was grabbed again, and brought face to face with the woman. "Sakura, hold on to Naruto. One day, he might be gone and you'll be left with nothing but shadows of all the scenarios that could have been."

"Lady Tsunade, I.."

"Just don't let fear hold you back from anything, ok? Promise me!" Her mentors watery eyes bore into her own, and Tsunade's grip on her arm was quite tight. Nodding, Sakura felt a weight of sadness in her chest, seeing her master reduced to such a state.

"Go home, Lady Tsunade. Get some rest. Shizune is already covering the surgery for you. I..I have some things to take care of, alright?"

The blonde's head was already resting on the desk once again, as she couldn't help but drift off to sleep on this perfectly located desk, as opposed to trekking home. Sakura left the office wearily, feeling drained and sad. She knew she had to speak with Kakashi about this, as Tsunade was only slipping further into her coping mechanisms since she retired as the Hokage, however, she knew it would hurt to have to give her mentor some sort of ultimatem or order from him. Even if she was a Sannin, it wasn't wise to let her battle her demons with alcohol in the middle of a hospital.

But what was it Tsunade had told her? _Don't let fear hold you back from anything._

Of course, there was a different context that Sakura had yet to reflect on, but the advice was quite sound for any situation, she thought as she started heading in the direction of the Hokage building. It would be a long night...

* * *

It had taken a week of travel, but Naruto and his group had finally reached Ryugakure. The trip had been quite stressful, as Neji could tell they were being watched from behind a border they hadn't crossed, the border into the Land of Rivers, territory of Tanigakure. Additionally, the needed to go around the Land of Stones, territory of Ishigakure, for the same reason.

The Land of Scorched Earth was aptly named, it had turned out, as it was quite arid and yet, wasn't desert land. Being located between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, the terrain seemed to make sense. Shikamaru had mentioned that based on the geography alone, he could already anticipate food was a great concern of Ryugakure's, as not much land seemed to be fertile for growing.

The village stood out in the landscape, with a large, circular wall of stone encircling the village. A small kiosk with an awning had been placed near the entrance, in order to keep track of visitors. Shikamaru led the way, observing the nin stationed there, three young Chunin, perhaps only slightly younger than themselves.

"We're diplomats from Konoha, here to sign in," the Nara spoke lazily, shifting his pack on his shoulders.

"Konoha? That's so cool!" A boy with black hair spoke, as another girl with short, platinum blonde hair handed a clipboard towards the group. The last one, a girl with blue hair in a braid stood.

"I'll lead you to Nakina-sama," she said with a smile, waiting patiently for the group to finish checking in. "My name is Hoshi Mizushima."

"Aww man, Hoshi always gets the cool guests," the boy muttered, crossing his arms.

"It's her turn, Daisuke," the blonde responded, waving at the newcomers.

Naruto looked around the small village, taking in the homes and the marketplace. It wasn't anywhere near the shabbiest village he'd been to, but it was certainly quite different from Konoha.

The building housing the office of the village leader was located in the center of the village. There was only two stories, administrative offices being located on the first floor, and the councilroom as well as Nakina's office being on the second.

Nakina's assistant waved them into Nakina's office, which was smaller than the Hokage's. The orange-haired woman seated at the desk smiled at them.

"You must be the envoy from Konoha. Welcome to Ryugakure."

"I remember you from the Hokage Gala," Naruto said, looking at the woman, who nodded, clearly remembering it too.

"Hatake-sama mentioned he sent you along. I'm curious about what you'll think of my village, Naruto-san," she said, before looking to Shikamaru and Neji. "Although I'm afraid I'll need a more formal introduction from your teammates."

"Shikamaru Nara."

"Neji Hyuuga."

"And I am Nakina Takeshi! Now that we're all introduced, why don't you all sit down. I'm sure there is a lot to be discussed. How was the journey?"

"We were being watched along the borders of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Stones. Is this a problem?" Shikamaru asked, now seated and cutting to the chase. Nakina's brown eyes narrowed at the information.

"That sounds about right. All of the rebels hailing from small villages are flocking to them to lead them in their crusade against the Great Nations. I'm not entirely sure what they're planning, their statements are always rather vague, however, they are responsible for those seeds of discord you may have encountered."

"Surprisingly, we didn't encounter any now that I think about it," Naruto said thoughtfully. He and Sakura found several bands of them on their Kumo mission.

"Likely because they were watching. Ryugakure has always accepted refugees from other lands to diversify our population, but the rate in which Tanigakure is bringing people in leads me to suspect they have no qualms if their new citizens are criminals," she explained with a frown.

"That's probably the point," Shikamaru stated. "It sounds like they're attempting to bolster their population to a more competitive size. It will probably take years before it truly is, though."

"I agree. Now, if we could discuss your roles here, I would like for you to meet with my council tomorrow morning. Afterwards, the Takeshi clan has arranged a welcome party for you and the councilmembers."

"Aren't you a Takeshi?" Naruto asked, confused by the formal way she referred to her clan.

"Only by marriage. I suppose I should explain things, before you get confused during your stay here," Nakina said wearily. "I was born into the Byaki clan, a clan of medical specialists here in Ryu. The Byaki were the rivals of the Takeshi, as both held large stakes in the village. 24 years ago, violent conflict broke out between the two groups and their allied friends and family after the Takeshi accused the Byaki of allowing their clan head to die in surgery. It became a civil war."

"The Byaki were excellent healers, but not quite as skilled fighters," Nakina continued. "Eventually, they lost to the Takeshi, who became the ruling family of Ryu. The new Takeshi leader, Masato, made a deal with my father, leader of the Byaki. For peace, the two clans would sign a treaty, and I would marry the son of Masato, Torao. I am leader because my husband died in a conflict with Ishi, and my daughter is not old enough to do it herself."

"The Takeshi don't find your rule problematic?" Neji asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I don't have the same medical talents as the rest of my clan, and most of the people left in the Byaki clan don't either. For some reason, they find it reassuring. The Takeshi clan and their branched off families take up about a fifth of the village population, and with all the newcomers, there tends to be more fear them than of us. That girl who led you here, Hoshi, her parents hail from Kirigakure. They came here to escape their civil war against clans. Her mother's clan, the Hamasaki, are becoming worrisome to them because they're gaining power here, as well as her father's family, the Mizushima. Simply put, there are more clans in the balance now."

"We will handle the issue...delicately," Shikamaru assured with a bow, as the girl returned to lead them to their lodgings.

Nakina looked at a map hanging behind her with a frown. Hopefully, an alliance could protect them for whatever Tani was up to.

* * *

A/N: Ok! There we have it folks! You met one of our villains, but also, some of our good guys! I hope this leaves you intrigued, and not bored. Don't be bored, i'd be sad. I tried to keep things different for some variety up in here! And oddly, instead of this chapter ending with Sakura yelling at Naruto, like the other 3 have, it ends with women being sad in offices. Funny how that worked out...

Go ahead and leave your thoughts! It keeps me going.

Til next time, you darling nuggets, you,

MyHikari


	5. Foresight

Chapter 5

A/N: Hello hello baby darling hearts! How are you doing? Staying warm? I sure hope so! Sorry this took so long, school's been bogging me down with midterms and the like.

InfKat: Yes, yes, mother is very mysterious.

midnightscar17: Yes it is.

skullwingD36: Thank you!

ahmadaziz: You leave the best reviews, you know that? Thanks so much for your kind words and analyses. And I do hope you'll become more familiar with all the OC's in your own time. I'll try to keep it from being too confusing.

SkyRage: Don't worry, it was just an introductory sort of chapter that we needed to get through.

**_There's an important message at the bottom, so please be sure to read the author's note._**

* * *

Ino knocked on the door to her friend's home, curious as to what Sakura could have possibly needed to speak to her in such a hurry about. It was unlike the girl, and that was particularly concerning.

Instead of Sakura or either or her parents opening the door like she expected, she came face to face with a girl whose hair was a slightly darker shade of pink than Sakura's, and sported eyes of warm honey-like amber color, instead of emerald green. It was Sakura's cousin, Sayuri Haruno.

"Hello, Ino-san!" The girl was excitable and bubbly, not having many similarities with her cousin personality-wise. "What are you doing here?"

"Sakura asked to see me."

"Oh, alrighty then. Sakura! Your friend is here!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" the voice of Sakura called out, as she came to the door. Side by side, the two Haruno cousins looked very similar, save for some slight coloring differences.

Ino followed the two into the Haruno family's kitchen, where Mebuki stood making dinner. The blonde woman smiled to their guest warmly, having known the girl for years. "Hello, Ino. How's your mother doing?"

The Yamanaka's smile faltered. "She's holding up as well as she can, I suppose. She's still very sad."

"I suppose I should go visit her tomorrow," Mebuki said thoughtfully, stirring whatever delicious-smelling concoction she had in her pot. Sakura had not inherited her cooking prowess. "Maybe bring her some lunch."

"I'm sure she'd like that," Ino replied, a sad smile on her face. It had been difficult for her family with her father gone. Of course, many of her friends had lost family members, as well, but that fact gave her no comfort. Shikaku had been like an uncle to her growing up, and she didn't know Hiashi, but his loss was affecting Hinata very deeply. Even Sakura's cousins lost their father too.

There had been little to be happy about with this war victory.

"Anyway, Ino, I asked you to come over because of Lady Tsunade. I'm really worried about her," Sakura spoke, sitting down at the table with Ino and Sayuri. "She missed a surgery yesterday napping off some sake."

"Did you talk to Hokage-sama?"

"Yes, but he seemed hesitant to do anything besides arranging for some counseling for her. I think that Shizune may have persuaded him from reprimanding her or dismissing her from the hospital."

"So where do I come into all of this?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. Surely, Sakura didn't want her to counsel Lady Tsunade. That wouldn't be ethical, as they knew each other.

"I was hoping you could speak to your aunt about offering counseling to her, and inform her to watch out for her drinking. Its normal for her to do that, but I think she's starting to do it more than usual, which is bad for the hospital."

"I can do that," Ino answered with a nod. "Are you prepared to deal with the possibility of Lady Tsunade being let go from her position, though? If this problem continues, I'm sure Hokage-sama will have no choice, it will be too dangerous for the patients."

"You think I don't know that?" Sakura snapped, before quickly composing herself. "I'm sorry...I'm just very worried about her. It's not easy to see her like this."

Sayuri pat her cousin's shoulder reassuringly, while Ino looked at her own hands. "It's alright, Sakura. We'll do everythinbg we can to help her, ok?"

"Thank you."

"And here I thought we were going to talk about boys," the blonde said, hoping to lighten the mood, waving when Sakura's other cousins Toshiro and Kameko walked in, dirty from training.

"Well, that blonde fellow does seem to like her a lot," Toshiro spoke, running a hand through short light brown hair. Sakura's face flushed, and she whirled to face him.

"Shut it, Toshiro! Enough with your teasing!"

"If you ask me, he isn't teasing you enough," the young girl, Kameko, said, sticking her tongue out at her glaring cousin. This girl also had pink hair, though it was closer in color to her uncle Kizashi's hair than her sister and cousin's.

"That's enough, all of you!" Mebuki interceded gruffly, crossing her arms at all the commotion. All 4 Haruno teens immediately stopped, and watched nervously as the older woman turned to Ino with a smile. "Now, dear, are you staying for dinner?"

* * *

Naruto groaned as he found himself at yet another bland formal event. Thankfully, he didn't have to wear that monkeysuit he so despised, but that did little to comfort him in a village where he hardly knew a soul. He wouldn't exactly call Neji and Shikamaru lively company, either.

The Nara was deep in conversation with two older men from Ryugakure's council, no doubt about trade or other political matters. Neji was also conversing with council members. Boring stuff the blonde concluded.

"Excuse me, mister, but could you hand me cupcake? You're blocking the dessert table," a young girl spoke. Naruto blinked in surprise, having been staring off into space mostly.

"Yeah, sure," he said, handing a pastry to her. Her hair was orange and wavy, complementing her yellow kimono. Her bamboo-green eyes, a standard trait of the Takeshi clan as Shikamaru had informed him, glittered in recognition when she examined him.

"You're one of the guys from that big village!"

"Konoha? Yeah, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you," he said, bending over and extending hand to shake in greeting. She shook it quite forcefully, clearly quite excited.

"I'm Tsubaki Takeshi, and I'm 10 years old! My mom is the leader here," the girl babbled on excitedly. He was starting to fear she would drop her cupcake, with how tightly she was holding it.

"Oh yeah, I met your mom. Nakina, right?"

"Right!" She nodded, bobbing her little head. "Are you a ninja? Are you super powerful?" Tsubaki gasped, another thought occurring to her. "Have you killed anyone?!"

"Tsubaki that is quite enough," a voice said, and the pair recognized it to be the girl's mother's. Nakina didn't quite seem terribly angry though, as Naruto could recognize thinly veiled amusement in her expression. "It is rude to ask such questions."

Tsubaki blushed in embarassment, and apologized weakly, before glumly starting to eat her treat. Her mother ruffled her hair, and looked to the blonde. "Are you terribly bored? It's no secret that these parties are just glorified council meetings with fancy outfits and food. Eiji loves to put them on and show off the Takeshi compound, though. He is my late husband's uncle, and leader of the clan."

"Ah, it's ok. I know it's something we have to do for the alliance," Naruto replied, waving his hand nonchalantly.

"My colleagues are quite impressed by Nara-san's intelligence. Hyuuga-san is quite shrewd, as well."

"I think Nara-san has the makings of an excellent politician," a voice said, as a friendly looking man with dark blue hair approached their group. He immediately bent down to Tsubaki's level. "Tsubaki-chan, Aoi is here if you want to go play with her and Hoshi."

"Naruto-san, this is Masanori Mizushima. He is our Head Jonin," Nakina introduced, simultaneously watching Tsubaki find her friend. "He is the father of the Chunin girl who brought you to my office, Hoshi. Also, he is originally from Kiri."

"It's a pleasure to meet somebody so famous," Masanori said, shaking Naruto's hand. "I'm quite impressed by Hatake-sama's delegation."

"Shikamaru's not that great," Naruto said, laughing a little. "He's very lazy and unmotivated."

"We all have our quirks, I suppose," the man said good-naturedly. "I'm eager to see how the negotiations work out. Being allies with your village could bring us many opportunities."

"We really need help training medical nin, as well as better trade agreements, and some help strengthening our forces," Nakina spoke. "Hopefully, we'll be able to get help with that."

"Well, I don't know about the other things, but Konoha has some of the best medics I've ever seen. My teammate, Sakura Haruno, is one of the best. She was trained by Granny Tsunade herself."

"Oh that's wonderful. I'm sure our hospital head, Mitake, would be quite excited by that," the woman said. "Perhaps some of our trainees could visit Konoha to study medicine under Lady Tsunade also?"

Naruto's smile held, but inside, he faltered. Sakura had confessed to him that she was suspicious Tsunade was having a difficult time recovering from the war. "Maybe."

"We're all very excited to have you here, Uzumaki-san," Masanori said, respectfully. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably go find my wife before she wonders where I wandered off to."

"You should go enjoy the party, Naruto-san. By tomorrow, it will be back to business," Nakina advised with a smile, and grabbing a drink from the table. "And what with all the nonsense going on with whatever Tani and Ishi are up to, than we probably won't be able to relax even with an alliance."

Naruto nodded, frowning. Tanigakure's unusual behavior had been wearing everyone down lately. He hoped nothing happened anytime soon, if at all. Nobody was ready for more conflict anytime soon.

* * *

"My son, you wish to speak with me?"

"Yes. How is the progress with our new citizens?" Katsutoshi asked, examining a map on his desk, and making notations on it.

"It is going well. We are welcoming in many strong ninja from many lands. Using Ryugakure's own tactics was a stroke of genius. I'm surprised so many would give up traveling as mercenaries to live here," the woman said. She had very long black hair, eyes the same red-violet color as Hiromi's, and very long eyelashes.

"Some are tired of being on the run. Others enjoy the more stable income, I suppose."

The woman, Yuna, patted her son's head affectionately. "You are so clever. I'm certain you get it from me, my son."

"Have we been able to track him down yet?" Katsutoshi asked, hoping to stop his mother's affection. He glanced at her, changing the topic.

Yuna sighed, flipping some hair over her shoulder. "Unfortunately not. We may have to switch to other tactics. He is highly skilled in being evasive, it would seem. No doubt the work of his former teacher."

"Just keep trying. I'm sure once everything is explained, he'll be quite eager to cooperate."

"I'm sure," she murmured in agreement, studying her nicely manicured nails. "I received word from Shogo in Ishigakure today."

"What does that buffoon want?"

"He said that the group from Konoha went to Ryugakure after all. I warned him to have people waiting at the borders to watch them carefully."

Katsutoshi sat in silence for a moment, digesting that that. "That does complicate certain matters. We'll have to plan around that."

"I'm sure we'll figure out what to do," she stated. "I have seen into their hearts, and the ninja from Konoha are weary and tired. It is the perfect time to strike them." Seeing him nod, she continued. "Shogo also made a surprising proposition."

"And that would be?"

"A marriage proposal," the woman answered with a smirk.

"I did not know he had a son for Hiromi to marry."

"He doesn't. The proposal is for you and his daughter, Kuzuri."

"No."

The woman chuckled slightly, and if it had been anyone else in the room with her, it would have been considered sinister. "Do not worry, my son, I foresee it being a very advantageous union. Once Shogo passes, you or a son of yours would technically be his male heir, and therefore inherit Ishigakure through her."

The young man remained silent, thinking about what she had said. "I will think about it."

"Very good, child. Now, come join your sister and I for dinner."

"Yes, mother."

* * *

A/N: Alrighty, you have finally met the mysterious mother of Katsutoshi! Her name is Yuna, and is known for her predictions of the future.

Now, I have a question lovelies._** I have a poll up, so please answer and let me know if you would like Toneri Otsutsuki from The Last movie incorporated into this fic in my own style! Obviously, there will be no NaruHina nonsense, but I'm curious if you want him to play a role as I do have some ideas regarding him. Some like him despite how awful the movie is. Vote on the poll, and leave a review of ideas if you have any!**_

Thanks for reading my precious darlings, please go ahead and leave a review of any comments, questions, concerns or suggestions!

MyHikari


	6. Tree With Many Branches

Chapter 6

A/N: Hey kids... so that Naruto Gaiden chapter. Kishi keeps digging deeper and deeper holes for himself, isn't he? I was gonna hustle this out for you guys, but my anger gave me some writer's block where it normally gives me plot clarity.

Hanmac: Sayuri definitely is something!

Guest 1: I totally understand. The Last is garbage...

InfKat: Yuna is certainly something, lol.

Guest 2: No, no, I'm not a NH fan in the least. This is why I'm leaving his potential plot in the hands of the readers, and I'll respect their decision.

SkyRage: The choice is up to you, darling. Obviously I'd like you to stay, and if there's anything you could suggest to make it better for you, I'd like to hear it, but honestly, you know what you like.

**Note: I will continue to leave a poll up on my profile in order for you guys to decide if you would like to see Toneri Otsutsuki here, with a different plot, that is quite different from The Last. I'm leaving it up to you guys, so please let me know!**

* * *

Karin's eyes glanced around, looking every which way. She'd been training with Sakura, since Naruto had been absent negotiating an alliance with a small village, when the girl invited the redhead to her home for some tea.

The Haruno household wasn't very large, but it was definitely homey, looking lived in and comfortable. Family photos containing smiling people were present, and the home itself smelled of freshly baked bread. Sakura led the way, chattering amiably all the while.

"...he said the negotiations are quite boring, but apparently the village has a lack of well-trained medical nin. He thinks that either apprentices will be sent here to learn, or ninja will be sent there to teach, maybe even both. It's quite interesting, apparently, quite a bit ago there had been a civil war in Ryugakure, and it wiped out most of their medical nin. They'd all belonged to a clan known as the Byaki."

Karin sat in one of the kitchen table chairs, watching the rosette's back as she recapped Naruto's mission and set to work making tea. Her cousin had slipped a letter in for Sakura when sending back reports to Kakashi, and she had received it that morning. "So you may be sent to this place too?"

The rosette shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. Tsunade-sama has been acting strange lately, and Kakashi-sensei ordered her into counseling. I'm not sure if leaving her would be a good idea."

"Surely you have other skilled medical ninja?"

"Well, yes, but I feel like it's my responsibility to look over things for her while she works on getting better," Sakura explained, sitting down while waiting for the water to boil. Resting her chin on her palm, she looked at the other young woman frankly. "To be honest...I'm sort of a prodigy. It would let people down if I couldn't live up to their expectations."

Karin rolled her eyes. "You're still young you know, and meeting all their expectations now, will only put more on you later."

"That's one way to look at it, I suppose," she conceded, rising when the angry shriek of boiling water demanded her attention. "Ultimately, it is Kakashi-sensei's decision...so I guess I shouldn't worry about it, now."

"There you go!"

A sudden singing voice echoed into the room, as Sakura's cousin Sayuri entered the kitchen, still wearing pajamas and sporting an untamed head of bed hair. The girl blinked her drowsy amber eyes, and noticed Karin sitting at the table.

"Sakuraaa, why didn't you tell me we had a guest," the girl whined, plopping down into her cousin's chair. "Now they have to see me like this."

"I didn't know you were home, let alone sleeping. Sayuri, it's 2 in the afternoon," Sakura chastised, pouring 3 cups of tea. "Even your brother is out on a mission..."

Sayuri seemed to ignore her cousin's advice, examining Karin while sipping her tea. "Who are you?"

"Sayuri, this is Karin. Karin, this is Sayuri, she's my cousin," the other Haruno explained hurriedly, eager to shoo the girl away. "She quit being a ninja, so now she loafs around the house."

"That's not true! I've decided to study to be an Academy teacher," the sleepy ex-ninja defended. "Kids love me, ya know."

"Probably because you act just like them."

Karin merely watched the exchange, somewhat amused to not be the one bickering for a change. So this was what it was like to have known one's cousin forever? Smirking a bit, she wondered if she and Naruto would ever have this sort of relationship.

"Eh, Sakura, you're mean!" Sayuri whined. "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend..."

"What was that?!"

* * *

"This village seems so small compared to Konoha," Naruto observed, walking down the streets of Ryugakure with Shikamaru and Neji. The marketplace, while bustling, just seemed nowhere near as vivid and colorful. There was a defeated look in the eyes of many of the people, trying to barter down high food prices.

"That's why they've come to us in the first place, Naruto," Shikamaru said, shaking his head. "Nakina-san explained they're having difficulties acquiring food lately, and so the people are being charged high prices. That, along with the threat of their enemy neighbor and his ally, brings us here."

"Didn't they say they also need help training their ninja?" Neji inquired, taking in every detail of the village as he walked, and carefully moving Naruto from the path of an old woman.

"Yeah, that too, I guess. They've been having land disputes with Ishigakure for years now, and the most violent one 10 years ago wiped out some of their strongest ninja. They've been playing catch up with the new blood ever since..."

"But I don't get it, I thought they had lots of people from other villages coming to live here?" Naruto asked, with a puzzled expression crossing his features. He knew that to be one of the reasons this small village was unique.

"Many of them are just civilians escaping violence in their home countries," the Nara explained, eyes flicking lazily to the sky. "Although, quite distressingly, potential new citizens seem to be flocking towards Tanigakure instead. Nakina-san said she thinks they have ninja intercepting any travelers to convince them to go there instead."

"They really must be trying to inflate their size, then," Neji pondered. "Likely planning for the long-term."

"That's what Nakina-san thinks. According to the limited information they have here, the leader is young, not much older than us. He took over after his father, the leader before him, died of mysterious circumstances. Ever since, those rebel groups have been cropping up all over the place."

The three fell silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Naruto, however, was interrupted when a child ran into him. "Hey! Watch where you're going, huh?!"

The kid had golden blonde hair and light brown eyes, examining Naruto for a moment before dusting himself off. "Sorry," he mumbled, ready to go on his way before his ear was suddenly grabbed by a middle aged blonde woman, wearing a white dress with a green symbol depicting a tree with many branches on her back.

"Mitsuo! Apologize to this man properly!" the woman commanded, examining Naruto herself. Her eyes were a color quite similar to his own, and the woman looked familiar to him. She froze, but turned her attention back to her child hurriedly, as he had still yet to apologize.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'll watch where I'm going more carefully next time," the child, Mitsuo uttered robotically. He didn't appear to be any older than 12, and was quite irritated by his mother's increasingly strong grasp on his ear.

"You don't sound very sorry," Naruto pointed out, petulantly.

"Well, you shouldn't have been in the way, Mr. Bad Ninja!" The kid cried back, pointing to the Konoha headband on his forehead.

"Bad ninja?! The name is Naruto Uzumaki, and you better remember it!"

The mother's face paled somewhat. "Ahh...Uzumaki-san, forgive him please. He had no idea you were the hero of the war."

"Eh? I just want him to know I'll be Hokage someday..."

"Anyway, Mitsuo, we should be going," the woman said with finality, gesturing to a basket with food in it. "Your father and sister are home waiting for dinner."

The kid rolled his eyes, turning to go. His mother bowed respectfully to the group from Konoha. "It was nice to meet you, Konoha nin. I hope you have a pleasant stay in Ryugakure."

"Well that was...weird," Naruto observed, turning to his teammates.

"That punk kid reminds me of you," Shikamaru snorted, before continuing to lead the way towards the village center, where they were heading to continue alliance negotiations.

"It would appear you just met members of the Byaki clan," Neji said, after a moment of silence. The other two looked at him, waiting for the Hyuuga to expand on his observation. "She wore the symbol of a tree on her back. I was reading about the Byaki and Takeshi clans' tensions, and both use the symbol of plants to represent them. The Byaki are represented by a tree with many branches as a symbol of their medical beliefs, while the Takeshi are represented by bamboo because of their Bamboo Warrior Style technique."

"They fight with bamboo?" Naruto asked, an eyebrow lifting before chuckling a little. "Do they summon panda bears too?"

"Yes."

"Wait, really?!"

"Yes."

"You're absolutely serious?"

"Naruto!"

* * *

Hinata found herself seated in front of her grandfather, the wrinkled Hyuuga Elder. After the loss of his other son, he'd said little regarding the issue of the heir drama. The rest of the clan, however, was in uproar, and many had their own opinion regarding the future of the great Hyuuga clan. Many even felt the Elder's indecision was proof enough that this was a far different situation than in the past.

Some doubted Hinata's mettle to lead well and make tough decisions. Others thought Hanabi too young and too inexperienced in the world. And others still lamented the fact Neji had been born to the wrong branch, as he was a true prodigy. The Elder, watching his grandchildren, felt all of these arguments, but still wasn't sure which child would yield the most benefits for the clan.

Hinata and Hanabi could both bring advantageous marriages with prestigious clans or politicians that could increase the influence of the Hyuuga, however, these unions would likely result in half-Hyuuga children. Additionally, this may make the two unavailable to lead the clan depending on where their potential husbands lived.

Some side branches were clamoring for this, making it known they found Neji the only suitable candidate. Others suggested simply marrying Neji and one of the sisters, letting them lead together. The Elder was hesitant with this resolution, fearing any children would suffer from the unfortunate side effects of blindness and inability to use chakra, which resulted with too much Hyuuga in-breeding. They had developed rules regarding the issue for this very reason, stating when Hyuugas were and were not allowed to inter-marry.

There was also the issue of Hiashi's will. It clearly stated Hanabi was to be heiress, but could not officially lead until the age of 18. However, before he had died, he'd started to reconsider, wondering if he should have Hanabi and Hinata duel for the title once again, after the war. Some took his uncertainty as reason to argue Hanabi should not be the default leader.

"Hinata, I'm sure you're aware of the many arguments that come up with clan meetings," the Elder spoke finally, after a silence of weighing options. "They demand I come to a decision soon."

"That is understandable," Hinata murmured respectfully, playing with her fingers in nervousness.

"You know I am normally not so indecisive, child," he said, observing her. "But all 3 of you grandchildren have factions that support you for different reasons."

He paused, and she remained silent, waiting for the news she feared.

"However, most feel that it would be advantageous in this trying time for the Hyuuga clan to gain allies through marriage. Many feel that this should be your role, as you will come of age much sooner."

She'd been expecting it, but the news still felt like a punch to the gut to her. It took restraint not to allow her eyes to well up, and she could not meet his eyes.

"We will begin to examine potential suitors and let you know if we find some we like. You may even have the ability to choose your favorite, though it is too early to say at this point."

"A-and what of Hanabi?" Hinata stammered, cursing her wavering voice.

"We still have yet to decide her fate," the Elder spoke, dismissing her. Hinata bowed respectfully to her grandfather, and exiting the room hurriedly.

Tears streamed down her face, as she realized she was being weeded out of the running, to make the decision easier for the clan. Remembering her father's last words to her, she scoffed bitterly. How was she supposed to change things for the Hyuuga clan when she would be married off, undoubtedly to some vain son of a Daimyo or business mogul.

Briefly, her mind thought of Ino's suggestion of making an arrangement with Gaara, but her mind dismissed it as quickly as it came up. There was no way she could possibly ask such a thing of him. How could she do something so terribly selfish?

Hinata opened her bedroom door with shaky hands, and saw Hanabi sitting on her bed, waiting for her.

"They're arranging a marriage, aren't they?" the younger girl asked quietly, observing her sister's tears, shaking, and pale complexion.

Hinata merely nodded, wiping at her eyes as Hanabi came to hug her reassuringly, whispering "I'm so sorry," over and over.

"It's not your fault..." Hinata murmured in her sister's arms, returning the hug.

"Do they have someone already in mind?" Hanabi asked fearfully, wondering if their time together was quickly depleting.

"No, not yet, thankfully. I don't feel ready," the elder sister admitted, ending their hug and sitting back down on the bed.

"Well, hopefully it's a long process, so you can adjust," the younger said, sitting down with her, and placing a hand on her shoulder. "At least Neji isn't here, he'd be throwing a fit!"

"That's true, I suppose."

"And look at the bright side..."

"What is the bright side?" Hinata asked morosely.

"...I'm not sure yet, b..but I will eventually!" Hanabi chirped nervously, cursing her failure to comfort her sister. "Until then, how about some ice cream huh?"

* * *

A/N: Ahahaha, I'm sorry if it's short, I just really wanted to get it out for you guys. Don't hate me! Bet you in a day or so the next Naruto Gaiden will be out and I'll want to pull my hair out even more. But for now, I gotta work tonight!

Also guys, don't forget to vote in that poll, ok?

MyHikari


	7. Cooperation

Chapter 7

A/N: I'm truly horrible. I say I'll update one thing, then update something else. *sigh...* Whatever will you guys do with me, huh? Naruto Gaiden still sucks. I would stop reading, but I'm morbidly curious about it. Its like watching a disaster, you just can't look away.

InfKat: Nope, not really. She'll try her darndest though.

The Keeper of Worlds: Thanks!

SkyRage: I understand. I'm really not trying to bog people down with OC's, I'm just trying to fix Kishimoto's terrible ending and adding a (hopefully) interesting plot! In fact, i've been trying to keep them at a minimum for you. Like always, lemme know if there's anything I can do to make it better for you.

samuraipanda85: Canon drools, fanon rules!

ShadowKing50: Hey, I'm trying to do the same! Plotholes I'm attempting to correct off the top of my head: changing the ninja system, justice for the Uchiha, changing the Hyuuga, relationships, what the fuck happened to Taka, Orochimaru and other assorted characters...

* * *

"Fuck," a figured murmured, sensing the approach of two familiar people as he meditated deeply in the thickest parts of a dark forest. He wasn't sure how they found him, exactly, as he specifically chose somewhere most people wouldn't go, but here they were.

Now able to hear them, the figure opened his eyes, seeing two men glaring down at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coolly, meeting their gazes evenly.

"I should ask the same," the more brash of the two replied, crossing his arms. "What the fuck are _you_ doing here, Sasuke?"

"I was meditating," Sasuke answered, rising to his feet as if disappointed to have to waste the effort. He had no idea how or why they were here, and he had not been expecting any interruptions.

"What does that have to do with your so-called atonement? Shouldn't you be off rescuing kittens from trees?"

"Why should I explain myself to you?" the Uchiha replied, eyes narrowing, before turning his attention to Juugo. "What do you want?"

"Orochimaru sent us," the large man explained simply.

"You're associating with him again? I thought you were afraid of him, Suigetsu."

"Not exactly," Suigetsu cut in, ignoring the mention of his fear for the Sannin. "He offered us some...very enticing rewards to come find you, would've been easier if your stalker helped though."

"You mean Karin, I presume?" Sasuke was vaguely curious as to what she was doing, wondering why she had not come too.

"Yeah, she's in Konoha training with Uzumaki or something. Tried to ask for her help weeks ago, she told us to fuck off."

"You shouldn't visit her, it will only make them more suspicious of her," the dark haired man advised, sitting back down again and closing his eyes, much to Suigetsu's annoyance.

"What do you care?!"

His remark was ignored by the other two men. "She cut her hair," Juugo mumured observantly, "But we've all let ours grow. Seems she views change a little differently."

It was true, the three men had all let their grow out. It seemed to come with the territory for Sasuke, and Suigetsu now sported a short ponytail. Juugo's own hair now drooped downwards somewhat. Sasuke sighed, clearly dissatisfied with the conversation being sidetracked.

"What does Orochimaru want?"

"Didn't say, he just wants to talk to you."

"Tell him I said no."

Suigetsu cocked an eyebrow incredulously. "You aren't even gonna hear him out?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised _you_ heard him out. I'm completely focused on trying to atone right now, I have no desire to be dragged down by Orochimaru once again," the Uchiha explained.

"He thought you might say no," Juugo said, stooping down to his former leader's level. "He told me to give you this if that was the case."

Sasuke's eyes opened once again to see a tiny scroll in the man's hand. He took it slowly, biting the tie off, as he lacked another hand. The piece of paper merely read "new threat" in Orochimaru's unmistakeable scrawl. Scowling, he called forth his Sharingan to examine it further but found it to be a simple scrap of paper. "He can't honestly believe this would convince me."

"Fine, suit yourself," Suigetsu shrugged, turning to leave. "Next time, it'll be Kabuto that finds you. Have fun with that."

Sasuke watched as the two retreated, but focused on something else entirely. It was tiny, and he definitely did not have Karin's skill, but he almost thought he felt another presence in the area. Trying to find it now, however, he sensed nothing. Frowning, he stood, ready to leave for a new destination.

* * *

Yuna held her wrist tightly, feeling a rythmic pulsing from a small tattoo of a crow. Her eyes were closed in concentration, only to suddenly snap open widely, meeting her son's expectant eyes.

"My son, I have had a vision!"

"Clearly," Katsutoshi replied, waiting for her to explain. His mother's visions were always varied in intensity and content. Sometimes she clutched her wrist in pain, at the spot of the tattoo, other times, her eyes would grow glassy, staring off into space as she clutched her head.

"I saw the Uchiha, he is in a forest hiding away from people. Lord Orochimaru is trying to find him, however, wishing to speak with him."

"Speak with him about what?"

"That is still unclear, I'm afraid," she replied, rubbing her wrist soothingly. She'd had the tattoo ever since childhood, though she usually kept it hidden under long sleeves. "But I now know where to send our tracker nin. Hiromi, bring me a map."

Hiromi, who'd been quietly sipping tea and looking at her hands, gave her a startled look, before standing hurriedly to fetch the map, bringing it back with a red pencil. Yuna snatched them from her daughter, quickly circling a spot on the already marked up map.

"He was in this area," Yuna concluded. "He's probably going to leave it if he hasn't already, however. Time is of the essence."

"Send the trackers out right away," Katsutoshi commanded, eyes following his mother as she rose to leave. "Tell me immediately if you see anything else about him."

He looked to his sister, who had sat back down silently, too afraid to say anything. "Hiromi, I have a mission for you."

"Yes, Katsutoshi-nii?" The anxiety was clear in her voice. How she was possibly related to him, he could not fathom. Both his mother and father were ruthless, he'd come by that honestly. She, however, was meek and overly gentle. He almost feared for her, amongst the hardened criminals and rogue nin starting to fill Tani's ranks. Almost.

"Mother has seen that a union between myself and Shogo of Ishi's daughter would be advantageous for Tani. I need you to go there and bring her here. I would like this to take place with as little fanfare as possible."

"When should I leave?" she asked nervously. The mission did not sound terribly dangerous, but Katsutoshi's eyes bore down on her, giving a silent warning to not screw anything up.

"Tomorrow morning. I've already sent Shogo advance notice."

"Understood, Katsutoshi-nii. Am I to go alone?"

"Would you like Byakuren's help, perhaps? Or maybe Kinrei? Surely not Miki after he groped you?"

"Ah...no, I can handle it, I suppose."

"Very good," he stated, reaching for a small scroll on his desk and holding it out for her. "There's one last thing I need you to do. Before fetching the girl, go to the border of the Land of Stones and the Land of Earth. There to meet you will be a potential ally of mine, by the name of Yutaka. Give him this."

"Ok," she affirmed, examining the scroll. It was thin, and likely contained a special seal to keep prying eyes away.

"Do not do anything to draw attention to yourself. He explained in our last correspondance that Iwa shinobi have been hunting him and his rebel group for almost months now. If they were to find him because of you, you would have to be killed immediately."

She gulped. The mission was a little more dangerous than she had anticipated initially, it would seem, but it was ok. She'd been sent on errands like this before, so it wasn't like she didn't know what to expect. After the rendezvous, the rest of her mission should be a piece of cake.

"I understand."

And with that, he dismissed her with the wave of a hand.

* * *

Naruto chortled, looking at the doodle he'd made on paper meant for taking notes on the Ryugakure council meeting. Neji shot him a quick glare, seeing a rude charicature of him and Shikamaru on the page. Shikamaru ignored them, continuing to speak.

"So now that we've settled trade issues, how do you propose we go about the training of your young nin?"

An older council member huffed. "I'm not totally convinced we need their help in this regard. Nakina, is there no swaying you on this?"

"With all due respect, Takeshi-sama, we do not get many missions of a higher level. This leads to plateau in the skills and experience of our younger forces. Not to mention, there are diverse abilities we still aren't certain how to properly train," she replied steadily, fingers interlaced. "Our hope is that exposing them to forces from Konoha and Suna would help them improve."

"And where is Suna's voice in all of this? Why are only delegates of Konoha in attendance?" the old man asked. In all of the discussions, he had been the most difficult, making it clear he did not feel the alliance was absolutely necessary.

"Don't worry, I personally have worked very closely with Suna in diplomatic work and understand their needs and desires," Shikamaru assured. "Additionally, Lord Kazekage will be reviewing the terms with Lord Hokage himself, so if any issues arise, it will be handled."

"This still isn't answering Nara-san's question of how we go about training the young ninja," Head Jonin Masanori Mizushima cut in. "I personally think it is a good idea, however, I caution that not too many Chunin should be removed from the area, just in case Ishigakure threatens more dramatic border disputes."

"I think that perhaps a rotating system should be put in place, to offer a full experience," Neji proposed. Naruto smirked at his indirect rotation pun. "Some young ninja could be sent to Konoha to work with ninja there. Others to Suna. Lastly, both Konoha and Suna nin could be sent here to work with those that remain. Eventually, every pupil will have worked in all three areas."

"That's a good idea, Hyuuga-san. I must ask though, would the pupils be accompanying their tutors on missions? That seems like a security issue," a woman, the Head of Education, observed.

"The whole idea seems like a security issue!" the difficult old man exclaimed, fist pounding into the crescent shaped table they sat at.

"Well, every mission they're sent out on has a certain degree of danger attached to it," Naruto stated, despite having been quiet nearly the whole meeting. "My first C-rank turned into at least an A-rank because our client witheld information. Kakashi-sensei almost died fighting Zabuza Momochi."

The Head Jonin Masanori, being originally from Kiri, paled somewhat. The others contemplated the blonde's words.

"Uzumaki-san has a point," Nakina said finally, after a moment of silence. "Our young ninja have a lack of exposure to the same danger and experiences, so when faced with that in the field, they wouldn't be prepred. Hyuuga-san's idea has some risks to it, but if it would help our village, I think it is worth a shot."

"Obviously the more minute details could be worked out with the Hokage and Kazekage," Neji added.

"Not to mention that Konoha will be hosting the next Chunin exams in about half a year and your village is invited to put forth contestors," Shikamaru contributed, looking at a paper in one of his many scattered piles. "It would help your Genin to prepare."

"Ryugakure has a long history of promoting their own Genin," the old man said, a deep frown in place. "It is part of the Takeshi clan's legacy, that I as leader feel obligated to maintain."

"Frankly, Takeshi-sama, as a child in Kirigakure, I saw Genin stronger than some of our current Chunin. The Zabuza Momochi that Uzumaki-san mentioned, was definitely one of them," Masanori countered steadily. Naruto seemed to get the sense that the two disagreed often, which made sense following Nakina's explanation that older members of the ruling Takeshi clan were quite fearful of their newer immigrant citizens. "I agree that tradition is important, but it is meaningless if it allows our children to go on missions that outrank them."

Another woman, whose nameplate read "Mitake Takeshi, Head Medic," sighed. "Takeshi-sama, you follow our clan tradition admirably, however, as a doctor, I tend to agree with Mizushima-san. It is true that we do not receive as many dangerous mission requests, but when we do, I've seen many young people die because they were not prepared. Even 10 years ago, when my sensei still ran the hospital, we lost a great many talented young shinobi in a conflict with Ishi shinobi, including Nakina-san's husband and my fiancé. Both of our daughters, as well as many other children have had to grow up without fathers or mothers because of it."

"You still have time to make a decision to particpate in the Chunin exams," Shikamaru placated, hiding his irritation well. The old man seemed to fight them at every turn, clinging to tradition. The one he irritated the most, however, was Neji, used to this mindset within his own clan.

"Thank you, Nara-san. Now, I think it is high time we break for lunch, so can we all meet back here in an hour?" Nakina asked, rubbing her temples slightly.

"Finally something we can agree on," the incorrigible old man said, rising to his feet, and shuffling out of the councilroom. The others began to stand as well, chattering amiably.

"Thank goodness," Naruto whispered to his teammates. "It was hard to keep quiet with that old codger!"

"I"ll say," Neji murmured in exasperation. "I can't tell if he would argue with the Hyuuga elders or get along with them swimmingly."

"So...ramen, guys?"

* * *

Kurotsuchi knocked on the door of her grandfather's office, before barging right in. "Grandfather!"

"Yes, child?" Onoki answered, casually sipping some tea. He sat in an elaborate chair, with several cushions placed on the seat so that he could be level with the desk.

"We have another protest in the northeast quadrant," she explained. "Should I send more ninja to restrain it? The last one turned into an outright riot, you know."

"Yes, by all means. However, instruct them not to use heavy force unless absolutely necessary, it would fuel their cause," the man replied wearily. After the war was over, things hadn't been quite the same. Rebels had popped up in the country, as they had everywhere else, and had spread propoganda stating that participation in the alliance went against Iwa's goal of being the strongest. Protests had been slowly increasing in number ever since. "That northeast quadrant, must be where all the rabble rousers live. This is the fourth protest in that section this month."

"It is the closest to the mountains, so it probably gets the most rebel propoganda," Kurotsuchi reasoned, already headed out to the barracks of the on-duty Jonin. "I will report back in an hour's time."

"Yes, child, do what you must," Onoki said, watching her leave, before looking out the window. It had been easy for the people to accept allying with the other 4 Great Nations in a time of dire circumstances, but once peace had been achieved, they were ready to go back to how things were before. He had a feeling that Ishigakure and their ally Tanigakure were somehow involved, as they seemed sympathetic to the plight of the anti-alliance protestors. Troubled, he decided to bring it up at the next meeting of the 5 Kage, expected to occur at Konoha's Chunin exams, the first since the war.

Usually, these exams were regional, however, in the spirit of the alliance, it was suggested that the 5 Great Nations all send their top Genin. It was 6 months away, though, and may not be soon enough, if Iwa continued with it's testy political climate.

With a sigh, he put down his teacup, and reached for some paper. It was time to start writing some letters.

* * *

A/N: Wow, I feel like this is a long one. Pretty sure it is. The crochety councilman is named Eiji, and he is based off of a city council member in my hometown who argues with everyone, lol!

Also, I want to mention that **I need some more votes in my poll to reach a decision on Toneri Otsutsuki being added into the plot with a completely different purpose. I need to know pretty soon. If you don't review, at least vote. The current standings are 6 votes for adding him, and 4 votes against adding him plus 2 reviews saying no as well. I need some tie breakers, guys!**

Lastly, I just wanna say that as far as the oc's go, I only use them because we know very little about the smaller villages. I try to keep them realistic, and only show a few extensively, even though I know the backstories and family trees of almost all of my original characters. If you want to know more about any of them, or want me to make some sort of guide to keep track of them all, let me know. I love hearing from you guys.

Anyhoo, later gators!

MyHikari


	8. Hiatus is ending!

Announcement

Hey guys, it's MyHikari! Don't worry, nothing is wrong, I just wanted to apologize for the unexpectedly long hiatus. I worked all summer, and I had been writing updates for all of my stories, when my tablet died and I lost everything. It was very frustrating for me, and I'm sure for you guys as well. I just finally got a new one, so I'll be working on getting those out to you really really soon. To make it up to you guys, you can send me ideas for oneshots if you'd like. I'll write up the ones I like.

Thank you for your patience. I'll try to update everything as soon as I can between work and school.

With love,

MyHikari


	9. Progress

A/N: Hey guys! I'm sure you saw my announcement that the hiatus is finally finally ending, but I just want to take the opportunity to thank you guys again. It's been a long summer, but now that I have a new tablet, I can get back to work!

Normally I answer reviews here, but between the confusion with the announcement, I think I'll just get back on track next time. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions, comments or concerns.

* * *

_6 months later_

"So you haven't had any trouble with the Chunin training?" Kakashi asked, looking across his desk to see Gaara sitting there. The Kazekage had just gotten into town earlier that day for the impending Chunin exams, and thusly immediately set to work talking with the Hokage.

"We have not. Baki and Kankuro have been whipping them into shape. A few have had difficulties with the heat, usually ones from colder lands, but otherwise, no problems," Gaara replied, examining the various papers Temari had given him upon his arrival. His sister had been here for weeks already, working out diplomatic details for Suna.

"Honestly, I'm surprised this system has worked as well as it has."

Gaara nodded in agreement, frowning slightly. "I fear Tani is watching very closely. Scouts haven't seen anything, but there was a mission where Kankuro and some of the transfer Chunin ran into a group of rebels. Nothing happened, but Kankuro suspected he caught them doing training exercises."

"Did they seem dangerous?"

"Not quite, but the couple in charge did seem to pose a bit of a threat, especially the woman. He did mention they seemed to want to avoid conflict, even though they had bigger numbers."

"I think they're changing tactics," Kakashi speculated. "I've had Yamato reaching out to some of Jiraiya's known spy network to see if they know anything. Most of the information we have is everything we already knew. Mei finally confirmed that Kiri's supply chains and trading has been disrupted, though. She was too stubborn to admit it before."

"She'll probably be all for the coalition A is proposing, then."

"Likely. Onoki probably will too," Kakashi spoke with a long and drawn out sigh.

"We can only hope the exams at least go smoothly then," Gaara stated, rising to his feet. "Too many factors are at play."

"If you say it like that, something will definitely go wrong."

Gaara knocked on the wood of the door frame on his way out, still frowning.

* * *

"Wow, have you ever seen so many people?!" a girl with short, red hair exclaimed dramatically. Her 5 companions, all the same age, were quite exasperated with her already. There were many visitors to the village lately, as the Chunin exams were just around the corner.

"You say that at least once a day," a slightly taller girl snipped back, blue hair hanging in a side braid.

The six had been waiting outside of a ramen stand for at least 20 minutes now, and had yet for their tutors to finish their meal. "It would seem the hero of the war has a large appetite," a boy with wild brown hair concluded, a smirk on his face.

"Only for ramen," came the voice of one of their tutors, Kiba, seemingly finished with lunch. He was walking with another man they vaguely recognised, Shikamaru.

"He's having an eating contest with Choji. It could go on for hours at this rate," the Nara said with a sigh. Kiba nodded in agreement, before sitting on Akamaru's back to wait with them.

"If he isn't going to help finish training us for the day, can't you just do it yourself?!" A boy with black hair exclaimed, pointing at the Inuzuka angrily. "I have to get strong for my village so those bastards from Ishi can't push us around anymore!"

Shikamaru was hardly able to get out a "Well, aren't you troublesome?" before a loud voice shouted out happily, causing even Naruto to poke his head out from the ramen stand, a noodle hanging from his mouth.

"Did somebody say training?!"

Kiba rested his face in his hand, whispering "Now you've done it..."

Rock Lee, with Tenten and Neji somewhere behind him, bounded up to the group excitedly. "Who's training?"

"Nobody, Lee, we actually might be done for the day-"

But the angry boy, named Daisuke, cut in. "I wanna, but Naruto and Kiba are lazy and take way too long lunch breaks!"

"Long lunch breaks can put a damper on a youthful spirit..." Lee contemplated, as his teammates finally caught up to him.

"Lee, we just got back from training Chunin in Ryu, don't you want to rest up before training again?" Tenten questioned wearily, probably tired from the week-long journey being crammed into a mere 3 days by Lee's pace.

"Nonsense, Tenten! A youthful ninja must always be up for training! What would Gai-sensei think if he heard you neglecting your training?"

"What is up with this guy?" the girl with blue hair, Hoshi, muttered, looking to Kiba. He merely rolled his eyes, keeping his mouth shut lest he be dragged into training with Lee as well. It wasn't that he disliked the guy, but he was too hardcore. Shikamaru had already faded into the shadows, mysteriously disappearing.

"So young ninja, you want to train?" Lee asked, smiling widely at the teen.

Daisuke nodded. "Our two teams are here from Ryu to train. We need as much as we can get!"

"Very well, I can help for today if Naruto and Kiba are too tired. Is that alright, Kiba?"

"Yeah, sure, Lee. Take...these guys with you for the afternoon."

"You forgot our names?!"

"It's ok, Kiba-sensei, you're still the best to me," the redhead Umeko sighed dreamily, a blush dusting her cheeks.

"You can thank your friend Daisuke later, kids," Kiba said amusedly, ignoring their grumbling as they followed the hyper man.

Naruto looked to Kiba, frowning. "Why would you let him do that? They'll hate you for it."

"No, I'm pretty sure they'll be mad at the one kid. Besides, now we have an option if they mouthy again."

"They were kinda mouthy, weren't they?" the blonde sighed, rubbing his comfortably full belly, like a pregnant woman would.

"Kids are mean," Choji moped, joining the two after paying his bill. "Dont they understand an eating contest is serious business?"

"Actually," Naruto began, thinking about it. "They probably never see people eat that much food in a sitting, let alone waste time for it."

"Their village is kinda poor, right?" Kiba asked, having never been to Ryugakure.

"Sorta, I mean Hoshi's family is actually doing pretty well, and two of those kids are from the Takeshi clan, which rules the village, but I dunno about the others. Maybe we should go pick them up and apologize?"

"And have to spar with Lee?"

Naruto gulped. "Tomorrow. We'll apologize tomorrow."

"Apologize for what, Naruto?" came the voice of Sakura, as she and Ino carried bags of take-out down the street.

"Ah, nothing, Sakura-chan. Say, what're you doing in these parts?" he asked nervously.

"We're picking up food for our lunch break," Ino replied, holding up a bag of food. Choji sniffed the smell of it appreciatively.

"Barbeque? Without me?" the Akimichi cried out, scandalized.

"You were with Shikamaru, and I was working!"

"Does it matter, Choji? You just won an eating contest, didn't you?" Kiba cut in exasperatedly.

"Wow, way to rub salt in the wound!"

"What?" Kiba and Ino gawked, not totally understanding.

"Naruto won, ok?"

"If it weren't for your unending stamina, I'd be concerned about you," Sakura said to her teammate, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Sakura, ramen is totally healthy, it has vegetables in it!"

"Anyway, we should probably go Sakura. Tsunade-sama is waiting for her food too," Ino reminded, looking at her watch.

"How is Granny?" Naruto asked, curious. "I haven't seen her for a bit."

"Well, working with the transfer students seems to have lit a fire under her," the rosette replied wearily. "Those kids are lucky they've made it six months."

Instead of having Ryu's medical students rotate in systems, they'd spent the past six months in a makeshift medical academy run by Tsunade and Sakura, with others helping here and there. They'd even taken a field trip to Suna, learning about herbs and poisons. It had run the girl a bit ragged, overseeing the handful of students.

"Although, she always was an advocate for promoting medical knowledge, so it's not terribly surprising, I suppose," Sakura added after a moment, Ino nodding along. Moving to leave, she waved to the group. "See you later guys."

"Bye, Sakura."

Naruto sighed a little watching her leave with Ino. Kiba just smirked, shaking his head.

"Naruto, I think your heart is flying away."

"She just looks, I dunno...even prettier lately?"

"Because she changed her hairstyle?" Choji asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Ino did too, so what?"

Smacking his head, he shook his head. That's what had been different lately, her hair. She changed the parting of her bangs, almost like...

"Lets go, guys. We should go find the kids."

"But you said we could apologize tomorrow, Naruto!"

* * *

Katsutoshi looked out on the village of Konohagakure. It was the first time he'd ever seen it in person, and everything about it made him frown. The marketplace bustled with activity, and the people seemed bright, almost cheery. In contrast, Tanigakure lacked the same amount of activity, and of course a happy atmosphere. He'd expected it, frankly, ever since hordes of rogues, rebels and mercenaries starting joining their village. The birthrate had gone up one percentage point, though, so that was pleasing to him.

"This is strange," said the smallest person crammed in the carriage. Her eyes were sharp as they surveyed the village, as maroon as Katsutoshi's.

"Yes, Satoko, this village is very different from from home," Yuna spoke, patting the head of her youngest child. "I foresee you dominating the tournament, though."

Satoko, younger sister of Katsutoshi and Hiromi, was fierce and vicious, like their father had been. Katsutoshi had been born manipulative and cunning like Yuna, while Hiromi was a black sheep, not showing traits from anyone really.

She hadn't failed in her task to escort his wife to their village, however, as he looked at the plain woman seated next to him. Her hair was a warm light brown color, pinned up haphazardly, and her darker brown eyes were observant, taking in everything. Kuzuri was not pleased to be his bride, and often spent her time in the library, reading the hours away. However, before they left, village medics were able to confirm she had been carrying his child for a couple months now.

"They represent everything we stand against here," he spoke, still frowning. "However, be careful in what you say. They're suspicious, and we don't need to provoke them yet. Not until we're ready."

"Are they weak here?" Satoko asked, an eyebrow raised quizzically. She was only 13, and due to her brother's distaste for the great villages, knew little about them culturally.

"They are strong," the young leader admitted begrudgingly. "But you are stronger."

Kuzuri rolled her eyes, which her husband noticed, but deigned not to remark on. His mother advised him to allow some disobedience, otherwise she would thoroughly resent him. The beginning of their marriage had been quite rocky, and he resented Shogo slightly because of it.

"There will be many villages represented here, Katsutoshi-nii. The biggest exams yet," Hiromi said softly, playing with her hands. She looked uncomfortable, seated between her mother and sister.

"That's exactly why we came, Hiromi," Katsutoshi replied. "So that they know our capabilities."

* * *

"Are you certain?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama-"

"Kakashi."

"Fine, Kakashi, I'm certain. The leader of Tanigakure and his family are here to enter participants into the exams," Shizune said with a huff, looking at the Hokage. He cursed under his breath, and began to rub his temples.

"Send a message to Gaara, then. Nakina too."

"I will. In the meantime?"

"Inform anyone dealing with them to be hospitable. Make sure they don't stay near delegations from larger villages. No need for conflict," he said with a sigh. He certainly did not want to repeat the Chunin exams of 5 years ago.

"Anything else?" the assistant asked, turning to leave.

"Yeah, where did Tsunade stash her secret sake?"

She frowned, leaving, but stopped at the doorway. "Third floorboard from the window."

* * *

A/N: Ok, I think we're good here. Sorry if the timeskip was jarring, but after a break almost all summer, I'm in a different headspace when it comes to writing then when I had fresh plans in my head. I just wanted to be at a point where it was sorta easy to ease back into it. Losing all my work was frustrating, and I forgot some of my plans.

As far as my potential Toneri plot, I think I may scrap it altogether. I may use it in my GaaHina fic Rabbit Heart, so if you really wanted to see it, I may be able to put it to use there. Let me know. If a majority wants it here, I can rethink my stance.

Anyhow, it's good to be back! Later, guys!

MyHikari


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